Bees Get Two More Weeks To Pay Up

Birmingham & Solihull have apparently been granted a two-week reprieve by HM Revenue & Customs as they seek repayment of a near six-figure tax bill.

HMRC are understood to have relaxed their demand for payment in full by the close of business today allowing the club further time to possibly avoid closure. The club’s board are believed to have two potential investors interested in saving the club.

The Birmingham Post reports,

“Privately the club’s directors are hoping to get both potential backers on board and are looking at a situation where the existing company would go into liquidation and is replaced with a new entity.”

“They hope that would allow them to remain at the second tier of English rugby and provide the new company with funds to be able to compete for the rest of the season and beyond.”

Full story and details of player exodus..www.birminghampost.net

Cov Get Tough On Rowdy Fans

Coventry chairman Andrew Green has taken a tough stance following an incident after their home match against Moseley last Friday when a fan allegedly tried to punch match Referee Luke Pearce.

He told the Coventry Evening Telegraph,

“I wish to make it clear that we abhor the alleged behaviour, that we will do all in our power to identify the alleged assailant and that we will ban this person from our stadium, once guilt has been established.”

“Coventry Rugby Club wishes to express its profound regret at this alleged incident particularly to the match officials. We are certain that all of our true supporters will subscribe to these sentiments.”

The alleged incident occurred after the Referee had awarded Moseley a penalty try in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time to snatch a dramatic 28-25 victory.

Tempers flared on and off the pitch at the final whistle and Coventry director of rugby Phil Maynard openly questioned the appointment of Pearce to officiate in the match.

Full story.. ww.coventrytelegraph.net

The Birmingham Posts`s assessment of another incident packed week in Midlands rugby…http://blogs.birminghampost.net

Sambucetti`S Rallying Cry

Bristol lock Mario Sambucetti has called on his team mates to put Sunday`s defeat by Exeter Chiefs behind them as they prepaper to face the Cornish Pirates at Camborne this weekend.

The Argentinean told the Evening Post, “"Any game you take part in, you want to get a positive result and make the most of the opportunity. We showed some good moments on Sunday, but of course we're not happy with the outcome.”

"In all fairness, Exeter are a brave and hungry team who played well, so it wasn't just about our mistakes. They did many things very well, so all credit to them. They took their chances, while there were a few chances we didn't make the most of."

Full story.. www.thisisbristol.co.uk/bristolrugby

Bristol will be screening the Pirates TV coverage of Sunday`s fixture at the Clifton RFC clubhouse for fans unable to make the trip to Cornwall. They have announced that demand for tickets has been high with only a handful left for sale.

If you can't make the Game or Clifton RFC the match can be viewed here on Pirates TV

Chiefs are a happy family - Clark

As Exeter Chiefs prepare to take on London Welsh on Saturday hooker Neil Clark has attributed their recent success to a good team spirit.

He told the Express & Echo,

“We've got things to fight for this year and the boys are working really hard for each other. We've got a great set of coaches, a great set of players and we're just like one big happy family. We're enjoying playing for each other but we've got to keep moving on."

Of the test posed by the Welsh he added,

“It's going to be a massive test, London Welsh are probably the most underrated side in the league. We have to give them the respect they deserve. They're a great side and we know they travel well."

Full story.. www.thisisexeter.co.uk/rugby

Dawe Salutes Tongan Centres

Plymouth Albion chairman of rugby Graham Dawe has praised the recent contibutions of Tongan centres Keni Fisilau and Sione Tui`pulotu.

He told The Herald,

“Hopefully, they are inspiring each other and putting pressure on each other. Thirteen is not Keni's natural position, but he understands the role well.

Sione is a very good passer and has got a lot of vision. They do seem to compliment each other.”

"On Saturday, Keni was some people's man of the match, while the sponsors gave it to Sione, but there were also some other good performances."

Full story.. www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/albion

Rayer Blames Complacency For Welsh Defeat

Reflecting on Saturday`s defeat at Old Deer Park against London Welsh, Bedford Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer told the club website that he felt his team may have been complacent.

He said,

“Before I watched the video I thought that during the first half we had played okay.

I thought that we had been the team that looked more likely to score and had put pressure on while playing in the wind, but they got two tries, which I thought were against the run of play. Second half we started quite well getting the penalty and at 17-10 I thought here we go, but then they had a purple patch.

“Having watched the video, to be honest, it doesn’t make for pretty viewing. We made a hell of a lot of mistakes and we can’t expect to win the big games making the types of errors that we did especially away from home.

We pretty much gifted them all of their points and they didn’t have to do a great deal. What they did do well was put us under pressure and force us into making errors.

I don’t think we particularly went into the game concentrating on what we wanted to achieve.

We talked about it a lot during the week and we knew that they were going to come hard at us, but we didn’t execute what we had planned which is disappointing. I don’t know whether we were being a little complacent thinking that we were just going to turn up and win